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IN THIS NEWSLETTER
Recent News and Commentary
Tech Tips
Around the Internet 

Recent News and Commentary.  When crossing the boarder from New Hampshire to Maine one sees a sign that says, "Welcome to Maine. The way life should be" and Maine license plates that say, "Vacationland."  Well, it's not and it's "Taxationland."  Maine now leads the entire nation in state and local taxes vs. income.  So, one solution is, 'we need more income.'  Which, I'm sure, would not result in more taxes.  Other than that it has been absolutely beautiful up here for weeks: mostly sunny and in the 70's and 80's.

I am going to cut the news part of this newsletter a bit short this time and publish the following alerts now.

8/1 16:00 EST Code Red Worm is Scanning the Internet... The Code Red worm is active and looking for servers to infect.  The increasing activity "is indicative of the first phase of operation for the worm, in which it scans random IP address for systems to compromise," CERT reported. "These reports indicate that the number of compromised systems is increasing exponentially."

"The Code Red Worm will infect at least as many Internet servers in its current incarnation as it did last month when the virus spread to more than 250,000 computers worldwide, the FBI predicted today."

"Helsinki-based Internet security company F-Secure Inc. reported earlier today that some 20,000 vulnerable servers had been infected by Code Red since the worm began spreading itself at 12:00 a.m. GMT."

However, "In the hours immediately following the Code Red's latest detonation, computer security experts were able to determine that the Internet was experiencing no unusual activity by tracking data relayed from some 4,000 'sensors' located around the world, noted Allan Paller, director of System Administration Networking and Security (SANS) Institute."

"At midday Wednesday, about 80,000 Web sites were infected, according to Sans. Government officials predicted July's peak of a quarter-million Web sites worldwide could be reached within the day."

"The reawakened ``Code Red'' worm disturbed the Pentagon computer networks on Wednesday, and the main U.S. computer monitoring center predicted it would infect as many systems as it did in its first incarnation in July."

Code RED Worm Alert!  How Big Is The Problem?  On July 19, the Code Red worm infected more than 250,000 systems in just 9 hours. Code Red is likely to start spreading again on July 31st, 2001 8:00 PM EDT and has mutated so that it may be even more dangerous.... Every organization or person who has Windows NT or Windows 2000 systems AND the IIS web server software may be vulnerable.
More Info and What You Should Do to Protect Your System...

As, if that wasn't enough, the SirCam worm is still going strong.   I just looked at my inbox and it is flooded again with infected messages.  (My computer is not infected and has not sent any infected messages).

 8/1 (updated) The Sircam Virus/Worm is for Real!  This is a nasty virus that is spreading all over the Internet and can destroy your data.  My inbox continues to receive infected mail and many repeated mailings from people who probably do not realize the messages are being sent and do not know that the virus is randomly choosing files from their computer and sending them to the world.  I have tried to contact the originators of these messages, but many have full mailboxes or invalid E-Mail addresses.  I have tried to trace the E-Mail from those people and to contact their ISPs, but have not been successful in all cases.  Please update your anti-virus program and scan your mailbox!  The most recent McAfee, which I use, works well.  Some versions of Norton have problems and need another update, which I understand is now available.  Click here for more information.

Visit the news section our web site for more news.

Tech Tip.  If you are thinking about getting high-speed, broadband Internet access (cable MODEM or DSL) you should perhaps also give some thought to eventually sharing the connection between two or more computers connected to together with a local area network.   To keep all of your sharing options open, inquire about a MODEM that can be shared with a broadband router before signing-up for the service.  Do not opt for an internal broadband MODEM.  Most broadband service providers supply external MODEMS with two types of interfaces: USB and 10BASET Ethernet.  Insist upon one with an Ethernet interface.  I do not know of a broadband router with a USB router to MODEM interface.  Also, the service provider may supply a network adapter and an Ethernet cable at no charge if you ask for it.  If you already have an Ethernet adapter in your computer, ask for a second one.  Use your adapter to interface the second computer, etc.

Another consideration is the protocols used by the service provider.  Some services superimpose another protocol on top of the TCP/IP protocol used for the Internet.   Many of these services use PPPoE or Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet.  Others, especially in Europe, use ATMoE or Asynchronous Transfer Mode over Ethernet.   Many, but not all routers, support PPPoE.  Fewer support ATMoE.  If you have a choice, a service that does not use either PPPoE or ATMoE will probably be faster, if all other factors are equal, and less trouble to install.  On the other hand, a provider may institute one of these protocols at any time.

Finally, some service providers explicitly do not permit sharing an Internet connection.   One can usually check on this policy at the service provider's web site.  Whether or not you choose to comply with such a policy is, of course, a matter between you and your service provider.

For more information see Ways to Share a Broadband Internet Connection.

Around the Internet.  What is PPPoE.   DSL and ATMoE. Try MonitorWorld.com to find information on an old monitor, etc.  Do you need a Perl script, etc. for a forum, guestbook, counter, search engine, etc. to run on your website?  You can probably find it among the 3,310 CGI resources currently listed at The CGI Resource Index.  These sites were useful for planning an automobile trip to our family reunion:  Travel with Kids has all kinds of useful info even if you are empty nesters/don't have kids.  I used MapQuest to generate travel directions and maps.  Click here for help with the SirCam virus.  The HyperTransport Revolution: an easy to understand introduction to AMD's HyperTransport.  The IRS has published a schedule for mailing checks as part of the new U.S. tax-cut law.  Criteria is also provided for who will get a refund and how much it will be. Click here to go there.

Please forward this newsletter to colleagues who may have an interest in these topics, or who may wish to subscribe.

Larry

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